China slaps additional 34% tariffs on all US imports; Dow futures plummet 900 points

China announced on Friday, April 4, that it is set to impose an additional 34 per cent tariff on all goods imported from the United States as a counter-move after US President Donald Trump announced his reciprocal tariff move on Liberation Day, April 2.

According to multiple media reports, the additional tariffs from China will be effective from April 10.

“The purpose of the Chinese government's implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” said the Commerce Ministry of China, reported the news agency Reuters.

China also announced that they will exercise more control on the exports of medium and heavy rare earth minerals like samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium to the United States effective April 4, as per the report.

The nation also reportedly added 11 entities to the “unreliability list”, which allows the Asian nation to take action against foreign entities in the country.

US Tariffs on China

US President Donald Trump, on April 2, the day he marked as ‘Liberation Day’, announced 34 per cent reciprocal tariffs on China, on top of an earlier existing import duty of 20 per cent on the Asian nation.

This move from the US government brought tariffs on the import of Chinese goods to 54 per cent.

Earlier part of the first tariff wave, the United States, in an executive order, announced 10 per cent tariffs on goods imported from China.

Dow Jones Futures

The US benchmark index, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures on Friday, April 4, were down over 900 points as China announced its tariff retaliation move against the United States.

As of 5:00 pm (IST) on April 4, the Dow futures were trading more than 1,500 points lower, at a little over 39,000 points, as investor concerns rose about the international tariff war between the United States and other nations.

“The market is giving big thumbs down to this tariff policy,” Ed Yardeni, President of Yardeni Research, told the news agency, Bloomberg. “I hope the message that the stock market is sending to the administration is being heard.”

The S&P 500 futures contract also dropped 3 per cent ahead of the US markets open on Friday, April 4.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed 3.98 per cent lower at 40,545.93 points, compared to 42,225.32 points at the previous market close. The S&P 500 index closed 4.84 per cent lower at 5,396.52 points, compared to 5,670.97 points at Thursday's Wall Street close.

The Nasdaq Composite in New York closed 5.97 per cent lower at 16,550.61 points, compared to 17,601.05 points at Thursday's US markets close.

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